I have to start on a positive note so mom understands my observations are made in a loving spirit. We don’t want any misinterpretations of my intentions, do we? All the tummy rubs and ear massages could go down the tube. We don’t want that.
So how have you been? I hope life’s treating you well. As to myself, I can’t complain. I still take mom on long walks in the morning and in the evening. Or perhaps I should say walk-run-walks. And they are more pleasant now. You see, mom is much faster and smaller than last year. She didn’t shrink much vertically as far as I can see, maybe half an inch tops, but she’s shrunk a lot horizontally. It’s no longer like pulling a close to 200 pound sac behind me, and now we can actually compete. I’m still faster, but she’s making some progress.
Oh, I almost forgot! I have finally graduated from the Bird Photographer’s Assistant class. My final exam was a week ago. And that was a difficult one: I had to walk past two mottled ducks on a loose leash without scaring them away. And then sit quietly while mom took pictures of them. That was the hardest test. You see, ducks are in my DNA. They must be hunted. But against all odds I did it!
The female looked at me from the corner of her eye but the male pretended I wasn’t even there. Can you believe it? I passed with flying colors! And expected immediate rewards. But mom had none. No treats in her pocket. She made up a poor explanation about going to the dog park and how it was not suitable to carry treats. That doesn’t hold water. She knows, as do I, that I could have eaten them all before we entered the park! I suspect she didn’t believe I would pass my exam because I had failed a couple of times before. I got some treats when we got home. Oh well, better late than never.
Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. We went to the dog park. This time I was lucky. There were no 75 pound dogs in the small dog park! But all my best friends were there and even a new friend, a brown dachshund named Olli. I have to admit that he is as nice as he’s handsome.
I love the attention we get at the park, but sometimes we have to stand in the back rub line and wait for our turn. But it’s all worth it.
And I love running the fence. Barking at bicycles and other strange vehicles with Saki and Eli. And suspicious people walking too close to the fence. We have the responsibility to protect our parents. It doesn’t stop even when we’re off leash and off duty. And since I’m not allowed to bark at home this is the only opportunity to exercise my vocal cords. But Bentley takes his recreation seriously. No running the fence, just calm exploration of the park…and posing for photographers.
My friend Snickers doesn’t run the fence either. He loves to dig. And as you can see, it’s serious business.
Sometimes we all pose for mom. She’s very persuasive. Saki and Eli love to impress her by flashing their best smiles.
It’s easy for them to smile. They are young. No missing teeth. But I’m very self-conscious and hardly ever smile for the camera. I can turn and look at mom when her tone gets desperate. But she should understand that I like to stay behind the camera and assist.
That brings me to the traumatic event of last Saturday. Mom woke up early. We went onto the terrace and she snapped pictures of the sunrise.
She had breakfast, but I didn’t get any. What did I do? And we didn’t go for a walk. What was wrong with this picture? She allowed me to go to the bathroom at the garage corner and then right into her car. I thought we were heading to the Taylor Park to chase the alligators. Exciting! But mom missed the turn. Where were we going? She was tightlipped. I thought she looked a bit guilty. This was not good. Finally we stopped and I saw it! The vet’s office. I wanted to run. To beg. To vanish into thin air. But the only thing I could do was to pretend not to see or hear her.
Mom carried me in, the girls met me…and then I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the afternoon. My mouth was hurting. My gums were sore. I hadn’t eaten anything the whole day and I was hungry. But couldn’t even think of putting anything in my mouth. I was miserable the whole evening. I definitely do not recommend teeth cleaning to anyone. Even the everyday chores are more fun. Like cleaning the kitchen floor from all scraps that mom drops when she’s cooking. Chicken and cheese are my favorites. Anyway, I felt a bit better already the next day. And the following day I forgave her. That’s what love does.
Oh, before I go I need to tell you that I really like my new Photo Assistant job. I get to walk a lot and sniff around in all kinds of interesting places. Last week on Tuesday I didn’t even expect to go on a walk. The weather was iffy and mom said it could rain any minute. But out we went to see the ospreys. When we got to the nest, mom said the mama bird was laying another egg. Ssshhh. I had to sit quietly while mom was watching and clicking.
And then we went looking for the daddy bird. I thought I’d seen him when we passed the Sailing Center, but I kept quiet. I’d get a long walk around the marsh. Many new smells. Finally mom looked beyond the park and spotted the daddy… at the Sailing Center on the other side of the road. Ha!
I look forward to seeing the osprey chicks. I hope there are many. Ten or even a hundred. I’d like to draw many names from the hat later in the spring, just like I’ve done for the past three years. And get many treats.
That’s all from me folks. Be good now. With love, Dylan.
She didn’t take her camera, but yesterday I saw this picture on her phone. She must have been very far because it doesn’t look anything like Florida. It’s dull and foggy and there’s no sun! But from what I can see, this site would’ve been potentially interesting to explore. Sniffing around that big stick in the middle and the large house in the background would’ve given me lots of information. And perhaps even revealed some secrets, had she brought me along. But to be honest, I think I had far more fun than she did. I stayed with my dog park friend Saki. She is a beautiful Shiba Inu girl and we get along very well. But I have to confess there was one tiny mishap on my part. You see, she got a little jealous when I was trying to teach her how to snuggle. Really close to her mom. She may have misunderstood my intentions.
Eli hatched a plan. He’s such an adventurer. He suggested we’d play the three amigos. And we’d travel south of the border. To the neighbor’s yard. I thought that was a great idea…until I discovered the wall. But Eli showed us how it’s done and jumped to the other side. Just like that! So I decided to follow. I ran really fast and jumped really high…but reached only half way up the wall. What a bummer.
I have to admit I was quite exhausted from all the excitement when mom came to pick me up the next day. I tried to be attentive to her, but I think she noticed. I skipped following her to the bathroom. Truth to be told, I spent quite a bit of time relaxing on the memory foam mattress she bought me last week. I can highly recommend it. Great for aching muscles. Five stars.
Mom missed a lot goings on at the salt marsh and at the dog park. I filled her in on the hottest park rumors and the latest marsh news, including that the Osprey couple now spends most of their time at the nest. My assessment is that Mama Sandy will lay eggs any day now. Papa Stanley hardly leaves her side. He’s a trooper. Always on guard so Sandy can take all the naps she needs.
Then I saw a Night Heron who was wide awake. I wonder if he was jet-lagged and had lost his circadian rhythm. Like mom does when she comes home from her long trips. She messes up my rhythm too. I never know if or when we’ll go to sleep. And in the morning I can’t get her up. Hello! It’s bathroom time! Nothing.
I have to tell you my patience was tried when I came across a family of White Ibis. They walked deliberately along my trail. Like begging for attention.
But I stayed put and let them go. In my book, that’s heroic behavior worth many treats. Chicken to be exact. I hope mom will compensate me later. Now that I’ve been transparent and told the story just like it was.
That’s all for today. Mom is back and we’re slowly settling into our routines. Unlike mom, I love routine. Up, out, eat, nap. Repeat. Simple, safe and very pleasant.
And I got it. One of the noisy machines she’s been using had fallen on her toes. Poor mom. That’s what you get when you don’t listen. I had told her it was completely unnecessary to clean the house. She could have been massaging my ears instead and nothing like this would’ve ever happened. But I didn’t say I told you so. I just couldn’t. Instead I gave her a lick right on the cheek.
Somehow mom managed to get me into her car and off we went. On empty stomach and all.
In fact, I’m still so confused that I don’t even want to jump up on my favorite sofa. I might fail. And that would be embarrassing. I’m just laying down on the hand-me-down bed in mom’s office. No pictures please. I know this too shall pass.
Much love, Dylan
The doggy park was quiet. Only two other dogs. On the ‘large dog’ side of the park. A Pit Bull and a Golden Retriever. I sniffed at both through the separating fence. But otherwise I was running solo, and that was fine. Lots of news to ‘read’ in the grass.
On our way back home through the salt marsh, mom was walking very slowly. I had to sit all the time. She was spotting one ‘friend’ after another, and photographing them. Oh, there’s the Reddish Egret, she would say. Sit.
And there’s the Tri-colored Heron! Sit. I did. Although I could’ve made a run for this bird. She was so close to the shore. But I’ve learned mom doesn’t want that. Happy mom, happy dog. And bird.
We walked around the marsh. And there she was, a Little Blue Heron who was curious about something. Her neck all stretched out.
Of course mom would need to investigate. And she found it! A bird hiding in a tree. That’s a Green Heron, rarely seen at the salt marsh, she said. I had to respect that. So I sat before mom even asked me to.
And that’s when we arrived at the Nest. I sat. And tried not to breathe too hard. You see, when I pant mom says her hand holding my leash is shaking. That means no good photos. Unhappy mom. So I sat still for one whole minute.
Mom’s always talking to the birds up there. That’s silly because they never respond. They just look at her.
And she’s all happy for the acknowledgement. So be it. I get to run at the doggy park and she gets her photos.
And yesterday she discovered they were back. The weather was really stormy. No weather for a walk, but I take what I can. So she took her camera and out we went, onto the bay side. I looked down from the sea wall and saw the water splashing high up, almost up to my feet. And white hats everywhere.
A few tiny boats were struggling against the wind on the bay. Someone had already fallen into the water. You could offer me ten chicken biscuits and I wouldn’t go there!
And that’s when it happened. Mom took me right onto the bay beach. You see there’s a sign that says dogs are not welcome there. Although the dog symbol is hardly recognizable, I can see there’s a red cross over it. Earlier we’ve always turned away right there. But not yesterday. Mom spotted this kiteboarder and that was it. We went just a little bit on the sand. She made me break the law. And sit on the sand.
I tried to be invisible, while she took her shots. But couldn’t help marveling about the man who flew high above the waves…and the buildings on the other side of the bay. Almost like a bird.
Luckily there was no enforcement of the law and we could run home pushing against the wind. I told mom this was an one time incident. It would not be repeated. I hope she listened to me.
In any case, I’m safe and relaxing at home. I wish you all a week filled with goodness. Love, Dylan
To tell you the truth, deep inside I love cooking. But I’m not into following recipes. I find it boring. Following a recipe leaves no room for creativity. It also requires all kinds of measuring devices and detailed mathematical conversion skills. And I’m a big picture person. So that’s not for me. But don’t get me wrong, I love reading recipes from all over the world. They give me ideas.
Anyway, last night I invented a new dish, suitably light for hot summer evenings. Filet de Flet à crabe. Or flounder fillets topped with a crab meat concoction (a heap of crab meat, one egg, olive oil mayonnaise, a few drops of Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, mozzarella cheese, breadcrumbs, one poblano pepper, one shallot, black pepper and salt). To be served with spicy baked zucchini, tomatoes and if preferred, some cheese-lemon sauce on the side. After 35 minutes in 400F/200C oven – bon appetite.
Everyone will survive and accolades will follow. I know.
Figuratively speaking, more things are cooking in the summer heat. Like a meetup with a bird photographer/blogging friend and his family early this week, family visits, photo hikes and overseas travel to cooler latitudes. And also on the summer menu: just relaxing. Recharging mind, body and soul.
Those who have followed my posts a bit longer may remember that I thought Diamond came to visit her parents in December last year. This is the only picture I got of her, taken right against the sun, but you can see her “necklace” was still there.
Then last year, Sandy and Stanley had three chicks. You, the friends of this Osprey family, named them Lofty, Aspire and Sindile. Lofty was the self-assured older brother, Aspire was the middle sister who aspired to do everything Lofty did, and Sindile was the sweet little sister.
They all grew up nicely and fledged. Then in about four to five weeks they all learned to fish for themselves and left the nest. Sandy and Stanley were exhausted and went on a well deserved vacation.
You may remember I thought Aspire also came back to visit her parents last December. What a beautiful young lady she had become.
So this year they had two chicks. The little one was born at least a week after the firstborn, which in itself was strange, and unfortunately she did not survive.
The beautiful firstborn fledged last week and now deserves to be named. I don’t think she’d like to be referred to as “the chick of 2016” when she comes to visit her parents later on all grown up.
Last night I took my light camera along for our evening walk to the doggy park and took a few sunset pictures using the dog stabilizer, pictured below.
All my pictures are all little “soft” as the stabilizer was disturbed by some squirrels and other irresistible attractions along the trail. But you can see the Osprey chick was alert and looking intently at something on the ground, while Mama Sandy was enjoying some rest warmed by the last rays of sun.
I had to look right into the sun to see what she was staring at. Shading my eyes, I could finally distinguish a blue-gray shape hunkering behind some glittering long grass. The younger Great Blue Heron was in attendance. And the chick was keeping an eye on him.
And walking back from the doggy park, we also spotted a Snowy Egret still hunting in the shallow waters.
Walking back home, I decided to take a swing on the bay side. The last rays colored everything vibrantly so I snapped a picture of the Sailing Center pier, while Dylan was looking right into the water from the edge of the sea wall.
Only after taking the picture, I realized there was something familiar. I zoomed closer while making sure Dylan didn’t intend to do a somersault into the water below. And caught a wet Papa Stanley resting on the railing, after what I believed was a failed dive for supper. I thought he looked like a painting.
Back to the name issue. What’s it gonna be? I leave that up to you. Please propose fun names for this girl in the comments. Last year I found it difficult to judge all those great proposals, so this year we are going to do a lottery, or sweepstakes. All you have to do is to put 
We’ve agreed that I will tie the name slips onto small halves of his favorite cookies. And the name on the first cookie piece he picks will be the winner. That should be fair. The only challenge with this procedure will be for me to take away the hat before he eats all the pieces.
Dylan and I are hoping you’ll come up with some great sounding names that even he can pronounce. Thanks in advance for putting you creative thinking hat on. Be good now. Tiny & Dylan
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